GT i-drive 5 4.0 garbage???

Hey guys, bought a i-drive and can't really find anyone with anything positive bout it is there a reason for that the 1.0 has some good reviews and the only diff is the components would an upgrade help or is it a lost cause

I agree.....People whine and moan about ANYTHING regarding bikes if its not bulletproof......and even if it is...someone else will come along and say its way too heavy.

So my advice to you.....you have a GT , which is maybe not top of the line but its very well made.....plus its full supension.....id get the seat height and the shifters all personalized to your liking and commence to beat the tar out of it It will take it. Maybe down the road if you start having trouble with components, upgrade em.

i-drive is a great suspension. As things wear out you can replace with better gear. Only difference is components. The front fork is bad. Look for closeouts on front forks NOW. 05 Marzocchi All Mountain SL or Manitou Minute 1 are great bargains now.

Originally Posted by jigz

Hey guys, bought a i-drive and can't really find anyone with anything positive bout it is there a reason for that the 1.0 has some good reviews and the only diff is the components would an upgrade help or is it a lost cause

Australian Mountain bike in the aug/sept edition (sitting beside me right now) have a right up on the i-drive 5 4.0. they gave it an 8 out of ten.
The only complaint they had was not the frame or the sus on it. but that GT had thrown some cheaper components on to bring the price down in one words.
"the frame feels excellent, but everything else will fall apart" This is an aus bike, down't know how the compoments change for other countries.

Australian Mountain bike in the aug/sept edition (sitting beside me right now) have a right up on the i-drive 5 4.0. they gave it an 8 out of ten.
The only complaint they had was not the frame or the sus on it. but that GT had thrown some cheaper components on to bring the price down in one words.
"the frame feels excellent, but everything else will fall apart" This is an aus bike, down't know how the compoments change for other countries.

All mountain.
they described it as under rated sus system. the rear wheel remains isolated from the chain and sus forces, and the geometry offers great handling that feels extremely smooth over mixed terrain.

All mountain.
they described it as under rated sus system. the rear wheel remains isolated from the chain and sus forces, and the geometry offers great handling that feels extremely smooth over mixed terrain.

Everything I have ever read about the I-drive suspension has been pretty positive and I think that bike looks sweet. Ride it until things need to be replaced - start reading up on what tires are good for your area/style of riding and if you dont like it think about what you could replace the front fork with.

If the bike works for you dont worry about what others say. Ride and enjoy...

i own an avalanche 1.0, and its my 3rd GT in a row, i owned a fully GT before this one and it really depends what you do with your bike the majority of the time and if you feel comfortable on the bike. I like the idrives personally and they really are a "all mountain" type ride, the shitty tires can be changed easy and you have yourself a very good ride.

Its also important to realize that each number 5.0, 4.0 etc, they all feel slightly different, when i started to look at new bikes a few months ago i sat on a avalanche 3.0 (among other 5-800dollar bikes) and it was lackluster, i then sat on a 1.0 and i knew i wanted that particular hardtail.

I have

a new Idrive 5 2.0. I had the same feeling? question? you are having. Couldn't and still haven't found much info as far as reviews go.

I really like this bike. By far the best bike I have ever owned. It is my first mtb and my first fs and I have only been riding since April. So my experiences are limited and I have nothing to compare to yet. All that being said...

This bike is a bit heavy but that doesn't really bother me. I figure I will just pedal harder. I changed from the stock Shimano pedals to some Mallet C because I like the idea of a clipless platform pedal. I wasn't doing real well with the others. Those added more weight but worth it in my opinion. I have much more confidence in my pedaling (especially starting on the uphills) now. I have replaced the two front smaller cogs? with a heavier stronger ones. Again added some weight but worth it. The middle one wore out. I am just getting the hang of smoother shifting. I ride pretty hard, fall down alot, and have pretty much beat the crap out of this bike, being a newbie and all, and it has taken it all very well. It handles real nice. I really like the suspension (nothing to compare to though).

Those were all handled at no charge from LBS as warranty work. (Thanks Jim @ Joyride Bikes in Logan, Utah)

The one thing that has me baffled and I am not sure what causes it and its only happened about five times. The rear end of the bike does a sudden shift outward (I believe all of these have been to the left side) while turning and breaking (on trail) then bounces back into place. Not a sliding motion but a quick shift over and bounce back. At first I thought it was the rear tire rolling under and maybe thats what it was but it feels much stronger than that. I have heard several suggestions, problem with wheel, triangle flex, tire rolling, just weird fs stuff? I have no idea and am not really too concerned. It has happened so rarely and hasn't happened for a while. It may be nothing.

All in all I really like this bike. The bike is far better than I am able to review it due to my lack of experience.

well i'm in the process of aquiring a Fox dhx and a set of Marz all mount SL( buddies bike calved) both parts have bout 30 km for $325 could i find a better deal or should i grab em
remember i'm in canada

well i'm in the process of aquiring a Fox dhx and a set of Marz all mount SL( buddies bike calved) both parts have bout 30 km for $325 could i find a better deal or should i grab em
remember i'm in canada

The 05 AM SL are about $330 US (with discount coupon) closeout at the moment, so sounds good.

Hi Jigz.
From my reading it sounds like you have a good solid frame there. Aus MTBs main complaint with the rigs was the wheels being heavy. the front fork being to flexy. And a brake set that was fairly rare here in australia thus would be difficult to get parts for.
Other than that they loved the ride, its balanced feeling and its handling over most terrain types. from the sounds of it you are fixing up at least a coupel of those problems so it should be one sweet machine to ride.

I-Drive is awesome

Hey man, I just want to let you know that I had an I-drive for about 3 years until it got stolen when I lived back in Denver. The bike was awesome and super solid frame. I rode it XC and took some super heavy falls and the frame was always looking like new. I ended up changing the front fork, rims, wheels, seatpost, saddle, handlebar, and pedals in order to make it lighter and stronger. It was an amazing bike and the suspension/I-drive worked flawless. It handled rock gardens like they were nothing. I miss my I-drive.

Screw what people say about it. If you like it then ride it hard man. People will always want the best and if its not the best, then its crap in their eyes. Just remember, you get to cruise the same trails they do and with a bike much cheaper.

I'm riding a 2001' 4.0 frame with all the lightest parts it still weighs 27 lbs. The frame itself is about 7.5lbs. The suspension is awesome. It does bob if you pedal standing, but it suits me since I'm a seated climber. Plush and responsive if you stay seated and it loves to be thrown into carving turns. My only beef is with the weight, but I may replace it with the 5.5lb team frame. I have not tried the schwinn i-drive, but if they can achieve the same ride with lighter/simpler linkage.

bought i-drive 5.4 in july'06

bought an i-drive 5.4 in july. within a month had to replace the cassette, but since then it runs great climbing and downhill...only draw back is the creeking that keeps appearing in the bottom bracket....seems to happen very often with the i-drives. had it serviced many times at perforance bike and it stills keeps coming back...creeks with every pedal strock. lately...it seems to go away after about 15 mins of riding...

kinda had the same problem so my bike guy put" high penitration" oil in the little stem holding the derailuer and i haven't heard anything since might want to check it out cause i was puting like 175km.a week for 4 weeks and never heard a sound

Mine is the 4in travel and yours is the 5 in.The idrive 5 is made to be more of a all mountain bike. The i drive 4 is more of a XC bike.Both bikes should handle about the same.
I hope you enjoy the GT!

This AMB article is excellent, and a comparison on the GT 5.4 was in the Semptember 2006 edition. It seems the 2007 model has a new frame, fork and rims, so I am seriously considering buying it. Anybody out there got it yet, it is matt black....?????[/[/B]B]

saw the 5.4 2007 model on the GT site. like the new frame design....but looks like they downgraded some componebts on the 5.4 (shifters and rear derailler for two). still like the bike...but i'd spend a couple more bucks and get the 5.3 at least.

I recently purchased an '06 GT i-Drive 5 4.0 and love it. I've been away from the sport over 10 years and this is my first full suspension. The bike climbs well and handles does an excellent job witth the bumps. (I'm actually the one holding back from performing to it's potential).

idxc 4.0 2005

I bought an 05 IDXC a few weeks ago and love the ride. Sure I would love to upgrade a few things more from things I have read other than performance, but it rides nice as-is.

Ive had to make a few adjustments. Moving the seat forward a few milimeters really improved the balance of the bike, the front wheel was coming off the dirt too easily. I find it to be a great climber and pretty smooth on the downhill sections.

This is my first full susp. so I am still getting used to the change.

I am still figuring out how much pressure to put in the fox float on the rear, I first tried 150 psi then upped it to 175 and seem to like the 175 better. I weigh 170#s,

GT ID 5.4 a fun bike ... but...

yes...i agree the '06 GT ID 5.4 has been a fun bike for me...great on climbs...steady on downhills....but theres that ever-present CREEKING. seems like i need to lube the heck out of it since i'm not sure whats causing it. my most recent suspicion is the pivots...main and/or lower. my guess is that there's not enough grease applied when the bike was assembled or it was removed by water somehow...but within a month after purchasing the bike in july'06 the creeking started and re-occurs every other ride or so. had the bottom bracket serviced so it isn't that. many others report the same creeking. haven't had time to disassemble the pivots to re-grease them...maybe ask my LBS to do it. seems as if i use high penetrating dry lube on the pivots it helps for a ride or two. as for the tires...the stock Tiogas were nice...fast ride, but also wore fast. replaced them with Kendas (sticky rubber)...seemed sluggish at first (guess that was the added traction) but after 1 or 2 rides they've been great. super traction on climbs. thinking about getting larger rotors for the disc brakes. heard mixed reviews on the rockshox fork...but i like it....u-turn adjustment knob broke but was easliy fix...rebound adjustment is also a nice feature...as is the lockout. good range of travel, too. i keep my rear shock at a high psi. i weigh 230 and keep it up at 250....i don't like too much sag.